May 12, 2010
An overview of the finalists who will be pitching at the Amplify business pitch competition
Updated to include Is That Odd, Inc.
Thursday’s Amplify business pitch competition in San Francisco will spotlight a number of competitive woman-led startups. The event, which is being hosted by Vator and Girls In Tech, will feature two keynote addresses from angel investor Esther Dyson, and Eric Ries, author, speaker, and consultant at The Lean Startup.
In the Consumer Products category, startups who will be pitching include:
Is That Odd, Inc.: a social network geared toward women aged 35 and over. The site, IsThatOdd.com, offers a space where adult women can share stories, vote in polls, and rate products, reflecting the energy of a TV Talk Show in what the company calls Talk Show 2.0.
Shoppista.com: a boutique shopping community that brings shoppers and merchants together in an online marketplace. The marketplace features products ranging from clothes and home décor to accessories and wine.
Marriage.com: a service network that connects wedding professionals and engaged couples. The Marriage.com platform allows wedding professionals (planners, caterers, etc.) to create their own customized micro-sites with their own unique URLs, and engaged couples can find quality local wedding professionals and receive tips and advice.
Everloop: a social networking site for “tweens” aged 8-13. The site ensures that young Web users can socialize, play games, and collaborate on projects in a protected and private online space. Essentially a Facebook or MySpace for kids, the site’s privacy protection and monitoring features keep its young users from sharing information with people outside of their private social loops.
Micromobs: a September Vator Splash finalist, Micromobs allows users to create private online social circles, as opposed to the all-or-nothing Facebook dilemma, where your parents might see a status update and pictures meant only for your friends. Users can use the site for anything from casual discussion threads to planning trips and staying connected with groups and organizations.
Rrripple: a social networking site for kids, teachers and parents. The site offers an intuitive timeline-based interface that allows for private group sharing so that users can control the media that they share. Teachers can use the site to upload lesson plans, lecture notes, supporting materials, and can engage with their students.
O2 Max: a health and fitness startup that focuses on kids, teens, and college students. The site leverages the power of social media to engage kids and young adults in fitness activities to promote active and healthy lifestyles.
In the Enterprise category, competing startups include:
Tripping: a travel-based social networking site that connects travelers, known on the site as Trippers, with locals, known as Hosts. The service offers Trippers the chance to gain a richer, more nuanced travel experience while Hosts can show off their communities. Hosts might offer travel tips, advice on where to get the best food, or even open up their homes to Trippers.
Loudsauce: a crowd-funding advertising platform that allows Web users to contribute small amounts of money to support ads for social causes. For a minimum contribution of $15, users can get ads for their favorite organizations on television, magazines, billboards, and more.
Wild Webbies: a self-described “triple bottom line” green, educational, and social site for kids. Modeled on popular animal-themed tween sites Webkinz and Club Penguin, Wild Webbies features educational games based around the idea of protecting the environment and saving endangered species.
TigerTrade: a business-to-business website that helps international firms connect and manage their businesses in developing world markets. Through the TigerTrade website, firms can build profiles, showcase their products, and connect with international buyers.
CovetedList.com: a digital media and e-commerce learning platform that acquires and manages data on user purchases and marketing. CovetedList.com focuses on providing behavior market research to its clients.
MOBI-PAL.com: described as an automated mobile teller, MOBI-PAL allows users to use the app as a mobile ATM. By partnering with merchants, MOBI-PAL allows users to withdraw funds from their banks using their mobile devices, with the merchant’s cash register being used as the cash dispenser. Electronic tender is issued in the form of a barcode and a transaction number, allowing shoppers to purchase goods without having to stop at an ATM or dig around for a credit card.
MyDemocracy: a personalized, non-partisan political portal that gives American Web users the opportunity to connect with elected officials quickly and easily. With one click, users can access the right elected official, communicate according to Capitol Hill protocol, and make sure that they are doing so at the most effective times, such as when bills are being voted on.
Image source: timesonline.co.uk
Related Companies, Investors, and Entrepreneurs
CovetedList.com
Startup/Business
Joined Vator on
CovetedList™ provides a learning platform for digital media and E-commerce partners that acquires, creates and manages the smart data that allows users to develop relationships with the products they like and the e-tailers that sell
them. Our technology can be applied towards any personalized purchase; our first vertical is apparel. For users, we are a true virtual shopping service, a cross-section of intensive profiling with learning and matching technology, and experiential information sharing. For partner customers the benefits we provide or four-fold: 1) Increase in sales uplift through highly valuable, personalized recommendations; access to new affiliate program revenues. 2) Improved customer loyalty, customization tools, and improved user experience. 3) Personalized outreach and programs: yield management and social graph campaigns. 4) More detailed, real-time market research data on demand via a SaaS interface.
O2 MAX
Startup/Business
Joined Vator on
O2 MAX is a brand focused on addressing the unmet fitness needs of teenagers, college students and kids. Unlike othersin the fitness industry, O2 MAX offers a compelling, effective, and fun portfolio of fitness services and products designed specifically for theyounger generation.
With the ability to successfully connect with its target demographic, O2 MAX is recognized as a leader in youth fitness as demonstrated by the media coverage received well as the relationships and programs implemented to date (Prom Fit, College Fitness and other youth programs). All programs leverage the use of social media to engage youth in real world fitness activities to promote healthier, more active, teen and young adult lifestyles.
Tripping
Startup/Business
Joined Vator on
Tripping gives travelers a safe and easy way to connect with local people for tips, shared cups of coffee and even home stays.
We launched in January and already have thousands of members from 100+ countries. Our partners include Ivy League universities, study abroad programs, major rock bands and international volunteer organizations.
To learn more, visit https://www.tripping.com.
Marriage.com
Startup/Business
Joined Vator on
Marriage.com is a social Q&A platform for the bridal community. Brides and professionals will be able to share questions, answers, ideas and local referrals. This is crowd-sourcing wedding planning information.
We're currently in development, about to launch this month.
MOBI-PAL.com
Startup/Business
Joined Vator on
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You can manually sign up or use your Facebook or LinkedIn profile. MOBI-PAL uses the AUTOMATED MOBILE TELLER™ (AMT) system which is a program or a web based application that turns your mobile device into a mobile ATM Cash/Debit card. The overall view of what MOBI-PAL does is it electronically functions as an ATM. We here at MOBI-PAL.com have termed it the AUTOMATED MOBILE TELLER™ (AMT) system. We would be establishing the platform for a virtual automated mobile teller. On the merchants side he would receive a authorized store # and could be given the option to license the AUTOMATED MOBILE TELLER™ (AMT) system, as you would a physical ATM machine. The merchant would realize a portion of the transaction fee either by percentage or flat fee (of which we receive 50% of as licensing). The difference is the merchants register would now become the actual cash dispenser. Mobi-Pal never gathers any information from the consumer’s financial institution it only facilitates the withdrawal through use of an institution based card in the form of cash only transaction, the information from these cards would be loaded up on the platform. A barcode and transaction number is then issued as electronic tender no dollar amounts are shown to the merchant via the consumers mobile device. MOBI-PAL was created to provide the on-the-go buyer a platform to buy goods and services online and offline without the added rhetoric of digging in a purse or wallet. Now the consumer can access our web base portal via mobile device and securely access their account and pay the participating merchant for goods and services. Through the use of certain technologies this particular program can run outside of the browser although a web based program.
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The AUTOMATED MOBILE TELLER™ system will allow level 4 merchants the ability to accept debit/credit payments right in their establishments without waiting for the consumer to go to the ATM machine, or installing some expensive new hardware. No more lost sales because the merchant does not accept credit cards, because his monthly sales volume is not high enough.
Louder
Startup/Business
Joined Vator on
Louder gives anyone a way to promote links beyond your friends.
After reading an article or watching a video that makes you think "More people need to see this", simply click paste the link on Louder, and add budget to crowd-promoted posts on Facebook and other networks that reach thousands.
Louder ‘amplifiers’ get access to what's trending, the impact they're making (views & impressions), and other top amplifiers within across different topics. With collections of crowd-promoted content, profiles on Louder represent a much deeper version of your identity then what you simply 'like'.
Is That Odd, Inc
Startup/Business
Joined Vator on
IsThatOdd.com is a social media website that rewards its audience with a virtual currency called Odd Coins. Odd Coins enable consumers to try out new product samples.
The website boasts a uniquely tuned user interface for capturing those moments when a woman shares a story with her friend, and then leans in to ask, “Is that odd?” The site is designed for women to share these stories, create polls, vote, rate and engage with each other.
IsThatOdd.com reflects the dynamics of a TV talk show updated for the modern Internet era. The site was designed to capture the aspects of a TV talk show set. We call this Talk Show 2.0.
Wild Webbies LLC
Startup/Business
Joined Vator on
Wild Webbies® is a unique, first of its kind, triple bottom line, Green, educational game and social interaction site for Tweens and their extended families teaching, in a fun and immersive way, how to “go Green” and reduce carbon footprints while saving endangered species’ habitats. We also encourage subscribers to go outdoors and re-connect to Nature and exercise to stay fit mentally and physically. Subscribers play Green games to earn virtual Green Bucks. Upon earning a specified number of Green Bucks, they are invited into our Green Mall where they have access to real-world, discounted, cool, environmentally-friendly products and services from some of the top-ranked Green retailers in the country. (Groupon.com is valued at $1.35 BB) Wild Webbie’s site is patent-pending.
Our business model is based on the two, most popular Tween, animal-themed sites, Webkinz valued at $2BB and Club Penguin, purchased by Disney in 2007 for $350MM. However, unlike Wild Webbies, neither of these sites is Green or educational.
micromobs
Startup/Business
Joined Vator on
micromobs is the easiest way to start a group discussion. No more having to deal with long email threads, or archaic group applications. Create mobs for your friends, family, classmates, co-workers, and everyone else in between. Organize your groups!
Shoppista.com
Startup/Business
Joined Vator on
Shoppista is a cutting-edge software platform for boutique selling & shopping.
We enable merchants to easily & cost-effectively sell their products online by creating branded "microstores" loaded with merchandising features. These storefronts can effectively house several hundred products with appropriate navigation.
Brand building messages & products can be distributed with one-click to social networks like Facebook & Twitter with a link to learn more & purchase product. Product sales are transacted on the Shoppista marketplace with our integrated, secure shopping cart.
Our platform can be used to create and execute flash sales (like Gilt) or pop-up stores & trunk shows in less than an hour.
Shoppers can follow their favorite stores & brands and, in effect, create their own shopping centers consisting of stores and brands that interest them. They can share items of interest with friends with the ability to purchase, connected seamlessly to the "share". They can complete their purchases across all merchants with one checkout.
We see a gigantic opportunity to re-invent the online shopping environment by giving sellers better tools to express their creativity and buyers a more fun way to discover and buy merchandise.
rrripple (RippleSend, Inc)
Startup/Business
Joined Vator on
rrripple empowers educators, students, parents and others to chronicle, curate and share their digital content in a safe and secure environment bringing next generation computing to classrooms.
Customer Problem: Existing social networking sites are not designed for students and young children which are compromising privacy. Students need a safe and secure platform to interact with their peers and teachers. Students of all ages can rely on rrripple's timeline interface for chronicling all types of media/content.
rrripple is a powerful tool for students, teachers and parents
alike. It is an intuitive timeline-based interface with core architecture based on private group sharing, giving users full control over their media and providing seamless intregration across web and mobile platforms. Teachers can upload
classroom content (lesson plans, lecture notes, supporting images, videos) at one place on an intuitive timeline and engage with their students.
Here's a quick video that speaks to rrripple's focus on privacy and how local Bay Area teachers and educational leaders are using it:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lb9a51Hs3yY
Everloop
Startup/Business
Joined Vator on
Everloop provides kids under 13 a free, safe space where they can connect with friends, play games, share pictures and music, send messages, discover new talents and learn. Everloop’s unique patent-pending “looping” technology introduces state-of-the-art privacy protection and monitoring that guards young users against bullying, bad language and sharing private information. Everloop partners with leading innovators to provide both tween-focused entertainment and educational activities. Kids get to be in the loop and parents get peace of mind. For more information visit http://www.everloop.com.
Awards:
-CEO Hilary DeCesare: AlwaysOn’s “2010 Top 25 Women in Tech to Watch”
-2010 DEMOgod Award for Social Media
-AlwaysOnGlobal2010
-AlwaysOnHollywood 100
-Board of Directors of The Max Cure Foundation for Pediatric Cancer Causes
- Board of Advisory for The Max Cure Fund at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
-Speaker at 2011 Youth Mega Mash Up Event
-Invited to Innovator Spotlight at Pii 2010
-CEO Hilary DeCesare invited to speak at President Obama's Cyber Safety Summit
-2010 Winner of Global Entrepreneurship 50
-2010 Winner Best in Class Social Media
TigerTrade
Startup/Business
Joined Vator on
TigerTrade is a business-to-business website that helps firms connect, manage, and grow their business in developing world markets.
Through the TigerTrade website, developing country firms can build profiles, showcase their products, and connect with international buyers. International firms can explore developing world markets on-line, search for partners, and build business relationships to increase distribution and sales.
TigerTrade also provides information, tools, resources, and services needed for international trade and business development.
TigerTrade is launching in the US and Indonesia in November 2010, focusing on the apparel, textiles, footwear, furnishings, and home accessories industries.
Through the TigerTrade website, companies can:
- Search for partners in developing world markets by industry, company, and product.
- Browse profiles with company details, certifications, product photos, and videos.
- Connect with prospective partners through TigerTrade’s secure e-portal.
- Access in-depth country profiles, local industry information, business tools, manuals, and trainings.
- Identify local resources for due diligence, shipping, and other services needed to execute the business transaction.
MyDemocracy
Startup/Business
Joined Vator on
MyDemocracy is a personalized publishing and communications portal for all Americans to share their voice with their elected representatives.
Please contact me directly for a full demonstration.
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